LOCATION:

Main River in Frankfurt

Mainkai, 60311 Frankfurt am Main

To understand Frankfurt one should understand the meaning of the name: It was the fjord where the Frank’s (the French) crossed.

In modern English, the name ‘Frankfurt’ is ‘Frenchfjord’

If you’re making a stop over in Frankfurt, staying for a few days, or living there, to relax, exercise, or take in a mix of skyscrapers, church steeples, barges and nature, take a walk along the River Main.

At Primus Linie you can book river cruises; take a short trip or a long trip, depending on howlong you're taying in Frankfurt. Many River Cruises offer food and drinks and will travel to wine regions, liek the Rhein.

An easy walk to take is to start at the ‘Eiserner Steg’, or Iron Bridge.

This is a well known bridge for pedestrians. You can cross the Main to the southern side, Sachsenhausen.

Walk west, along the river walkway to Museumsufer.

This is a street lined with some of Germany’s best museums. At the Holbein Bridge, a modern pedestrian bridge, you can cross back to the north side of Frankfurt. The paths and parks by the river are most popular in the warmer seasons.

Paths along both sides of the River will take you up or downstream, ideal for cyclists, those on rollerblades and joggers, which you will see many of.

There are also play areas for children, an ideal children’s playground (with swings, a large wooden play boat and sand) is about 200 metres north of the Eiserner Steg, and just south of a bend of the river called Nizza (there is a restaurant there called Nizza) because the area is unusually warmer, reminding the locals of Nice, on the south of France.

The Main River is also a well used route for trade and tourists: You can also see barges hauling raw materials and shipping goods throughout Europe, and tourist boats, making trips to the Rhine and beyond.

Most Saturdays on the Sachsenhausen side of the river is a flea market; all the things you could ever imagine are for sale, including some characteristic chic German artefacts and antiques.

For the thirsty adventurer visiting the river, the preferred German drink is a ‘Radler’. This is half lemonade, and half beer, ideal in the summer heat. If it’s Winter, dress warmly and drink schnapps.

If you keep walking along the river to the east, you’ll eventually arrive at East Harbor and the new European Central Bank building.